


Twin Tattoos

by Songbird90



Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: Family, Fluff, Mild Angst, Pre-Canon, pls help I'm new and I don't know what I'm doing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-04
Updated: 2017-04-04
Packaged: 2018-10-14 21:01:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10544276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Songbird90/pseuds/Songbird90
Summary: A few years prior to the events of Dragon Age II, Hawke and her twin brother Ross make the type of excellent life choice any sensible kid in their late teens would make - they decide to get matching face tattoos.





	1. Chapter 1

Hawke took a deep breath and grit her teeth. She had never been completely sold on the idea of getting tattoos, let alone on her face.

She peered across at her twin brother Ross. He was lying on a similar narrow slate next to her. They were set up in a makeshift tattoo parlour at the very edge of the Lothering market. It was little more than a yellowing tent with wooden benches inside and a couple of heavily tattooed sailors out front, but it was all they could find in their small village. Hawke and Ross were both prone on hard wooden slats while the sailors were outside preparing their tools.

Ross looked perfectly calm; eyes closed, his face was a picture of serenity. Hawke sent him a spiteful glare she knew he couldn’t see.

‘Are you still sure you want to go through with this?’ he asked, unmoving.

Hawke let out a frustrated sigh. ‘Of course I do,’ she said. ‘But I want you to remember that if we regret this, it’ll be all your fault.’

Ross grinned mischievously. ‘I thought you wanted to live a life without regrets?’

‘Yeah, that’s right,’ Hawke protested. ‘It’s just...tattoos are permanent, and since they’ll be on my face I’ll have to look at them every day.’

‘It’s not too late to back out, you know,’ he sat up with a smirk. ‘You don’t have to do this with me. Like you said, it’s my fault we’re here in the first place; me and my stupid ideas.’

His expression changed from one of amusement to concern. He stared at her with his deep brown eyes, eyes that always burned with sincerity. Her sweet baby-faced brother couldn’t tell a single lie or speak ill of anyone. He had a presence that radiated kindness, with a smooth face that refused to grow a beard and a smile that could melt anyone’s heart. His wavy black hair, usually held tight in a long braid, spilled across his shoulders. He searched her face intently, trying as Hawke often did to guess what the other twin was thinking.

She knew he wouldn’t judge her or be disappointed if she backed out, but she also knew how important this was to him, to the both of them. She decided to cast aside her reservations. Hawke pinched his cheek and grinned.

‘It’s a good idea, Rossybabes, that’s why I’m here.’

Ross seemed to relax, tension visibly released from his shoulders. Nevertheless he rolled his eyes at her.

‘Why do you insist on calling me that?’ he groaned.

‘Because, dear brother, you’re just such a cutie.’

‘What, like your mabari?’

‘Hey, you leave Cutie War-Dog out of this!’

Just then the flaps of the tent were pushed aside and in came the sailors, each carrying what looked like spindly torture devices before them.

Ross winced. ‘This is going to hurt isn’t it?’

‘Would you like to hold my hand?’

‘I know you’re poking fun at me, but yes, I would.’

Hawke reached out to Ross and he took her hand, squeezing it tight. They both grimaced and tried their best to hold still as sharp needles pressed into the faintly traced designs on their skin.


	2. Chapter 2

Hawke and Ross trudged up the hill from Lothering, gingerly prodding the fresh scar tissue on their cheeks.

‘How long do you think it’ll take to heal?’ Ross asked.

‘No idea,’ she replied. ‘I’m sure it’ll look like shit and hurt even worse for a while, though.’

‘Don’t worry sister, the ink is only a couple of shades darker than our skin - it won’t even be that noticeable.’

‘Mother will notice, and I’ll bet she won’t be pleased.’

They reached the crest of the hill overlooking Lothering. Nestled just beyond the peak was their humble family cottage. A steady stream of smoke was coming from the chimney which meant that their mother was most likely inside cooking dinner. They were safe from her wrath for the moment at least.

Their younger twin siblings Bethany and Carver were in the front yard, seemingly in the midst of a heated argument. They were trying to keep their voices down so mother couldn’t hear them from inside, but their whispered exchange was no less fierce.

‘Who cares what father would have wanted?’ Carver hissed at Bethany. ‘He’s dead, and now mother has to support the four of us on her own. She can barely scrape together enough coin to feed us all, if I become a Templar I can send money home to help-’

‘Father was an apostate! How could you do this to him? To me?’

Hawke felt her heart sink. It had been only 3 months since their father Malcolm had died. Bethany had become a pillar of stoicism since he passed away, doing everything she could to comfort their distraught mother. Carver’s pain came through in his general broodiness and tendency to lash out at his siblings at any given opportunity.

It hurt to see them struggle like this. Young as they were they felt the burden their father’s death placed on the family, but they wouldn’t let themselves grieve.

Hawke faced her twin. They exchanged a stern look and charged through the front gate.

‘That’s enough!’ Hawke yelled, flinging her arms out between them. She rounded on Carver. ‘I don’t want to hear any more of this Templar business! How do you think mother would react if you were shipped off to Denerim to put on a dress and hunt mages? Nevermind that your sister’s a mage, those dresses look atrocious!’

While Hawke was chastising Carver, Ross was attempting to console Bethany. ‘I know you’re scared Bethy, but so is Carver. I promise he doesn’t want to hurt you, he’s just trying to do what he thinks is best for the family.’

Both Carver and Bethany were about to hit back with some kind of retort, but instead they paused. Carver was the first to speak.

‘What’s wrong with your face?’

Hawke blinked. She hadn’t been expecting that reply.

Bethany gasped. ‘Ross! Did you get a tattoo? Did you both get tattoos?’

Hawke turned to Ross who gave her a nod. She straightened and took a deep breath. Now was the time.

‘We did,’ she said, moving to stand beside her twin. ‘We got matching tattoos on our faces. What do you think they look like?’

Carver scoffed and Bethany frowned.

‘Looks like you got a botched job,’ Carver sneered.

‘Wrong again brother, you get zero points. Bethany?’

‘They sort of look like...tear tracks? Why would you want to get tattoos that look like that?’

‘Excellent question, Bethy,’ Ross said.

‘It’s because you two have the self-awareness of a sack of potatoes-’

‘Ahem,’ Ross cleared his throat. ‘What we mean to say is, we know you’re hurting, but you refuse to show it.’

‘We get it,’ Hawke continued, shooting her twin a brief apologetic look. ‘You want to be strong for mother, for the family, and you think that means you’re not allowed to cry, but you can’t just bury your feelings and hope they go away. Crying, talking it out, that’s what’ll give you the strength to get through this. Me and Rossybabes cry all the time, and we just wanna let you know that we’re here for you.’

There was a moment’s silence, then Carver started sniggering. ‘You got tattoos just so you can tell us it’s ok to cry? That’s a whole new level of stupid, even for you guys.’

Hawke punched Carver in the arm. ‘We didn’t just do this for you, asshole! We got them for us as well, because sometimes we need reminding too.’

As Hawke dodged a counterstrike from Carver she cast a glance over at Bethany to see how she was reacting. Silent tears had begun to slide down her cheeks and her bottom lip was trembling.

Bethany rushed forward and flung her arms around Hawke and Ross, small sobs beginning to break out from within her. Ross and Hawke held her tight, Ross placing a soft kiss on the top of her head. Bethany’s body begun to shake as more sobs tore through her throat. She scrunched up the folds of her sibling’s clothes in tight fists.

Hawke looked up to see Carver staring at them, a look of bewilderment splayed across his face.

‘Get in here, you prick,’ Hawke said. She grabbed his shirt and wrenched him towards them.

Together the Hawke siblings stood in a tight circle, holding each other. Bethany reached her arm around Carver, pulling him closer. A satisfied smirk curled Hawke’s lips as she felt her shoulder dampen from Carver’s tears.

Suddenly they heard the door of the cottage burst open. Leandra stood in the doorway, eyes wide and mouth gaping.

‘Are those tattoos? What have you done to your beautiful faces?!’

The circle of Hawke siblings disbanded. Ross stepped forward, trying sheepishly to explain. Leandra was having none of it, beginning a fearsome tirade that Hawke knew would last hours.

Hawke’s Mabari soon made an appearance. It seemed she had abandoned her evening vigil of watching dinner on the stove to investigate the commotion outside. She bounded up to Hawke, panting and demanding attention. Hawke gave her a scratch behind the ears.

‘Hey Cutie,’ she said. ‘What do you think of my new tattoos?’

Cutie War-Dog responded by barking happily and wagging her tail.

‘Yeah,’ Hawke laughed. ‘I think so too.’

Ignoring her mother’s ranting and Ross’s sputtering apologies, Hawke led Cutie and her other siblings inside. Ross would have to take the brunt on this one. Hawke would make it up to him somehow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a few things:
> 
> -seriously if you've read this I am so incredibly grateful and I hope you liked it
> 
> -parental disapproval is 86% of all reasons why I do anything (I love my parents, to be sure, but also love winding them up)
> 
> -feelings are important y'all. I have many feelings about feelings so should I get around to it, any and all Dragon Age fics I write will have So Many Feelings. My Hawke babies love feelings.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a giant fan of Hawke Twins ok, it's a problem. 
> 
> A couple of notes about this story:
> 
> -I base all my Dragon Age headcanons on just how fukn terrible I am at playing video games. On my first playthrough with F!Hawke I lost Fenris because I sided with the mages, and on the second with M!Hawke Isabela ran away because I don't think I talked to her enough? I don't know. It's very tragic and heartbreaking so obviously I need to have BOTH my F!Hawke and M!Hawke in my stories because I love my DA2 companions very much and I can't bear to lose them. 
> 
> -My M!Hawke is called Rossybabes because I like to give my video game characters names that make me giggle. Rossybabes is my secret nickname for a hothothothothot lecturer I had in first year Uni. He is a BABE, I cannot stress enough, and he's also one of the sweetest people I've ever met (and hella smart, he got a $20k scholarship to go study in Antarctica his first year out of Uni like damn).
> 
> -BuT wHat Is F!HaWkE's fIrSTnaMe? All will be revealed if I ever get around to writing out all the Dragon Age II headcanons I have swirling around in my brain.
> 
> -If you're reading this know that I am incredibly grateful and I love and appreciate you. Please leave kudos if you like the story, and I'm always up for constructive criticism so feel free to leave a comment with suggestions!


End file.
